Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Changes in dog T cells before and after long allopurinol
By Papadogiannakis, E et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2010·Department of Veterinary Public Health·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Determination of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood of dogs with leishmaniosis before and after prolonged allopurinol monotherapy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 19 dogs diagnosed with canine leishmaniosis (a parasitic disease) had their blood tested for specific immune cells before and after 18 months of treatment with allopurinol, a common medication for this condition. Before treatment, the dogs showed a significant decrease in a type of immune cell called CD4+ T cells. After the prolonged allopurinol treatment, the number of these cells improved, but they did not return to normal levels. This suggests that while allopurinol can help manage the disease, it may not fully restore the immune system's function.
People also search for: dog leishmaniosis treatment · allopurinol for dogs · low immune cells in dogs
Abstract
Canine leishmaniosis (CL) is a common systemic parasitic disease that is endemic in many Mediterranean countries including Greece. The immune reaction to the parasite is critical to the outcome of the infection and the response to treatment. Some studies have shown a reduction of circulating CD4+ T cells and of the CD4+/CD8+ ratio in dogs with CL and these changes normalised following treatment with meglumine antimoniate or amphotericin B. Allopurinol is used as a monotherapy for the chronic treatment of CL. The aim of the present study was to determine the circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte numbers and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio in 19 dogs diagnosed with CL before and after prolonged allopurinol monotherapy (18 months). A significant decrease in circulating CD4+ T cells was observed in dogs with CL before treatment. Prolonged allopurinol monotherapy improved the number of circulating CD4+ T cells, but did not restore their number to within the normal range.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19733103/